Back home after 2 fantastic weeks in the US and finally celebrating my new IPA 2013 awards …2 successful workshops, 3 states, 4 fantastic cities in 2 continents (Chicago, San Antonio, Houston, Frankfurt), plenty of inspiring people (my co-instructors at the Chicago workshop) and the brilliant students that attended, of whom many were also awarded at this year’s IPA) and last but not least the 3rd prize and the 6 Honorable Mentions I won while still traveling across the US. I’m very excited, not only for winning the 3rd prize in Architecture Professionals this year but also because all the work I submitted won distinctions in all categories that I participated, which I consider even more important than just one prize. The 3 series that I’ve mainly worked on this year:

I’m extremely grateful these days; I’ve had a fantastic year professionally on all fronts, having won important distinctions in all the competitions I participated, which were quite a few this year, having had my work published in a lot of prestigious photography magazines and books and having given quite a few interviews as well. Also outside the “fame” part, I’m extremely happy with the course my professional life is taking, both as for the teaching part (workshops, mentoring, writing), as well as for the creation part. I’m full of energy and full of new ideas and the only thing I wish more is to find the magic formula for having 48 hours in a day instead of 24 hours so I can have the time to do all the things I’m thinking of. Maybe I should move to Pluto, I’ve heard they have 6 times longer days than us there.

About Winner: Architect and International Award-winning Black & White Fine Art photographer living in Athens, Greece, Julia Anna Gospodarou is specializing in architectural long exposure photography and is aiming to present in her work the essence and the soul of the built environment, creating images that intend to move the viewer beyond the conscious level of acknowledging space and volumes. Her professional activities comprise also teaching fine art courses and workshops worldwide. Her work can be viewed on her site and blog www.juliaannagospodarou.com

About IPA: The 2013 International Photography Awards received nearly 15,000 submissions from 103 countries across the globe. IPA is a sister-effort of the Lucie Foundation, where the top three winners are announced at the annual Lucie Awards gala ceremony. The Foundation’s mission is to honor master photographers, to discover new and emerging talent and to promote the appreciation of photography. Since 2003, IPA has had the privilege and opportunity to acknowledge and recognize contemporary photographers’ accomplishments in this specialized and highly visible competition. Visit www.photoawards.com for more details.”

Julia Anna Gospodarou is an internationally acclaimed photographer, architect with a Master degree, author and highly sought-after educator, teaching workshops and lecturing around the world. Founder of (en)Visionography™ and creator of Photography Drawing™, author of the best-selling book From Basics to Fine Art - Black and White Photography , with high distinctions in the most important photography competitions worldwide (International Photography Awards IPA Photographer of the Year, World Photography Awards SWPA and Hasselblad Masters finalist, as well as 80+ more awards), widely published internationally in books and magazines, Julia is passionate about the art in photography and striving to spread it into the world.